Erin's Return
by Night Of The Crow
Summary: A story that follows the end of Thief 4, the reboot. Starting from the very end, we see through Erin's perspective (3rd -person) what happens after the Primal is once again in a peaceful state. Hopefully life will be normal, but who could predict the future?
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**_ _Unfortunately right now I have to use NotePad, which makes this quite bad, but you gotta do what you gotta do! So, first things first, this is my first fan fiction. I don't expect this to be great, so I will accept all criticism with open arms. School, homework, after-school activities, you know the excuses, but I'll try to post at least once every two weeks._

 _I apologize for the short beginning._

—

 **Chapter 1:** The Revival

What was she doing? Repeating the same words she had said before slipping into the grips of the Primal. This was madness, she couldn't even seem to control herself, it was as if she watched the scene of horror as a ghost.

"Garrett, I'm slipping!" Erin exclaimed, the same voice of before, the exact same words as before, the exact same movements as before. Yet there was a twist this time. A flash of blue clouded her vision causing Erin's hand to slip away and fall to the water, yet the Claw found itself in her grip.

It still felt as if she had no control, but her arm dug the Claw into the post of the ship, allowing herself to climb up.

Panting from the pressure and anxiety she had just witnessed, Erin looked at Garrett picking up his limp body and resting his shoulders in her lap.

"Garrett?" There was always some odd connection she had felt for him. _Did she love him? Was he like a brother? Or like a father who always stared down for doing something wrong, yet praised for greatness?_

Thoughts clouded her mind, and suddenly after a minute of silence, the worst thought came. _Could he be dead?_

No, that was not an option. Surely he was just unconscious, there was no way the Master Thief, Garrett, could simply die from a small incident that had not even injured him.

Reassuring herself, Erin kissed him lightly on the forehead and lay him a little farther from the edge of the broken ship.

"We'll meet soon again," A light smile lined her lips as she walked away from the scene, ready to gather her thoughts on every event that happened.

What had happened though?

"This isn't a proper place to think," she muttered, making her way out of the sea vessel ready to find a quiet place. Maybe her hideout would be a good place. Though the place brought back bad memories, they creeped her out even if she had been the cause of them.

Tear down the pictures, maybe keep one? Rearrange the furniture, that would give it a different feel, surely. A decision was made. Go back to her home, rebuild it, and think.

Even before that though, she needed to ditch the dress. Erin was in no position to defend herself without the Primal. Thin, weak, pale from hunger, she needed something to sneak around in.

Fortunately for her, in turned out that Garrett had actually killed one man, and he was in the path back. Those zombies were gone too, how fortunate. First undressing the man, then undressing herself, Erin slipped into the leather outfit that the other man wore. It was quite big, making it so that she had to tighten the belt all the way and ditch some of the larger items.

"No gold," Erin sighed, clearly upset. Well, thieves had to steal, and there was always competition for coin.

Making her way off, Erin regretted leaving the Claw in the post.

"I can always make a new one," A few positive comments to herself would boost her moral.

She also found herself still completely capable of sneaking around, but because of the rising sun, there was no time to take a detour of thieving. The Watch, they were all still roaming around, such a nuisance. Making her way through the City, Erin noticed the amount of people roaming around, more than she was used to, that's for sure. This was a great morning, sort of. Free of the Primal, saved from drowning, some new clothes, she even found a bit of bread and cheese left by a patrolling guard of the Watch.

Now it was time to return home, her journey was normal and Erin remained undetected.


	2. Chapter 2

Back home again, how nice. Almost. Although depleted of energy, Erin furiously tore down every picture in her hideout. Her face was twisted into a terrible, toothed frown scarier than a wolf's. It didn't take too long to get tear down every last one, less than a minute most likely. Stuffing them in a brazier, Erin looked around for her flint and steel. It had been so long, two years? Three? Or had it only been a week filled with danger and suffering? She couldn't even remember where she'd hidden her supplies.

With a groan of relief, she'd finally found the fire starter, and immediately lit the brazier. Fortunately there was enough fuel for the fire, and the paper helped quite a bit. Immediately after Erin had started the fire a fierce shiver went down her spine. Then she suddenly realized how cold she was. Staring down at herself, Erin picked up a blanket and wrapped it over her shoulders. Her tighter clothes definitely helped conserve body heat rather than these, well baggy trousers and shirt. Picking up the bread and cheese she had stolen earlier, Erin's face calmed and her eyes looked into the fire as she sat on the cold floor. Another shiver.

It wasn't exactly odd that Erin was afraid of the Primal and herself at the moment, after all the Primal had imprisoned her, giving Erin no control. The zombie-like creatures, they had nearly scared the life out of her. The asylum. No, a nightmare the Primal was chaotic, was it really a balance of power? That's what it had told her. All throughout her imprisonment with the Primal her warden, it had whispered to her. Sometimes creepily, and sometimes calming. Torn apart by a simple stone, had Garrett experienced the same? After all, Erin had seen the smallest of pieces stuck in his eye. When she, no. When the Primal had destroyed Orion, the leader of the Graven, Garrett had seemed perfectly fine, almost. All was fine except for a sudden pain he had felt. It had never harmed her, but men had harmed her because of it.

Then she started to cry. Sobbing with tears streaming from her eyes, Erin could probably take out the fire right in front of her with them.

"Stop thinking about it," Erin muttered to herself, "You'll only make it worse."

Then with a suddenly lighter tone she spoke again, very lightly, "Sing a happy little tune."

And so she did. With a lonely yet light hum, the notes of "Drunken Sailor" her easily heard. The vibration in her throat felt good, welcoming, like she was finally free. Not free yet though, the extreme energy of the stone had left a large "dent" in her mind.

More thoughts. This was unbearable. The crying started again, this time with a new purpose.

Erin had tried to kill her former mentor. The one man who had supported her in everything but murder, Garrett was there since she was a child. The master of thieves had taken her up in his arms, caring and teaching her. Then she had tried to lead him to his death, and it almost worked. The first time she'd contacted him, through his eye, Erin had felt overjoyed inside. Yet the Primal took over, and it wanted every piece of itself back together. The thing had corrupted her, to bring the four pieces back together. It thought it only had one choice to grab the last, fourth piece of the primal, to kill.

Then another thought crossed her mind as she slowly chewed her makeshift meal. She'd been possessed by the Primal's energy, but never seemed to be touched by the stone itself. That must explain why the Primal had made her leave every time Garrett came near with the stone. Perhaps the stone was the only reason the energy was not causing chaos and destruction. A calm stone controlled it all, and the energy no longer wanted to be controlled? This time Erin simply wondered, no emotional feelings, simply wonder.

It would probably be a good thing to stop thinking now, after all Erin had finally come to a stopping point. With drooping eyelids and sluggish movements, Erin lifted herself off the floor and gently flopped onto the bed. No point in cooling the fire, she was already very cold. With a tired sigh, Erin finally closed her eyes and almost immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Oh how long it had been since she had had a good sleep. 

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I decided that it would be easier for me to create shorter chapters than most people. My mind will only allow me to think for short terms. So please enjoy! And this won't only be about Erin thinking about the Primal, don't worry, she'll go outside._


	3. Chapter 3

Erin awoke from a peaceful sleep with a racking cough. Spit and the most dry, crisp air she'd ever felt traveled through her throat, pressuring her chest with every cough. Oh, the pain. Her throat so dry that it felt as if no water had traveled through it for weeks on end. Perhaps that actually was what had happened. Yet still it pained her greatly, even more when another bout of coughing escaped her.

Well at least it kept her distracted from her other worries. About the only good thing about pain, for when is it ever good? Though the thought that this was her punishment for the wrong that she had done came across and she hung her head down.

Raising her head, a headache immediately attacked her.

"Aargh!" The only thing that Erin could willingly let leave her mouth, and even the simple exclamation hurt. Gripping her head, Erin finally rose from the bed, only for another headache. _Please go away, please go away!_ As if her sickness could read her thoughts, the headache faded away. Yet with another cough, she remembered the cough was still there. Lifting a hand to her forehead, the extreme heat was obvious. There was a large chance she was sick.

Sifting through her brain, Erin tried to remember what the word was. A man who could heal you. A minute went by, a couple more seconds, then it hit her. A doctor. That's what she needed, some type of healer. At the moment, she didn't want to go searching for her gold, especially since she remembered that Garrett had mentioned. Something about a queen, not exactly a healer, but someone of great assistance. The queen…. The queen of, the queen of what? Of…. Of, beggars! The Queen of Beggars! Somewhere near the old cathedral. In Stonemarket, quite a long walk. Or perhaps she could find a way to the roofs, but in her condition that wasn't an option.

Having never finished her "dinner", Erin grabbed the bread and cheese then slipped out of her hideout. The fire from last night no longer burned, without some type of fuel. It seemed that it was actually evening, a long day's rest was something good. Without much energy it would be hard to sneak around, but she had been absent from the city for quite awhile, they may not notice her. Perhaps just hugging the walls would do her good and passers would think she was a beggar.

Thus her mind was set and off she went, brushing against the walls while the rich, going for an evening stroll, stared at her in disgust. _You'd be poor if I felt like it_ , Erin thought, returning their looks with a low glare.

"Nearly there," she muttered. The trip had gone uneventful, as guards dismissed her right away. Just a few more meters and she was next to the ruined chapel. Wary of her surroundings, Erin inched closer as the men and children watched her move. Then almost immediately one of the beggars ran and left. Unsure if that was good or bad she stood there and let out a few more coughs, one arm around her stomach. Less than a minute later someone came and approached her.

"Uhm, please follow?" The boy asked awkwardly, he could be no more than eight years of age, but he seemed healthy for the average beggar. Erin grunted with a nod as the boy led her to who she assumed was the Queen of Beggars. Blank white eyes, silver hair and a large coat of some sort. Perhaps it was her, and the thought was confirmed, perhaps indirectly, as the "queen" spoke.

"My eyes grow older by every second, and more blind I may be, but is this the Master Thief's apprentice?" The old woman asked. Erin stood and simply stared at the woman in front of her. Not trusting her voice, she simply nodded. The woman seemed to be able to see pretty well, as it was obvious that she could see (or perhaps sense?) Erin's gesture. As the queen nodded several times, Erin couldn't help but stare at a rat perched on the chair being used. She entered an odd mental state that made her stare into nothing, but it was quickly broken once the elder spoke again.

"You've caused a great disturbance. Very great, the Primal is dangerous, I hope you know. Although it seems you have recovered-" She was interrupted by coughing, at which Erin gave a smile of apology.

"Or perhaps 'recovered' is not the right word. Yet still your greed has done great harm to us."

Erin gave a smirk and raised an eyebrow as the woman finished, "Greed? You do realize that I'm a thief?" There was obvious amusement, but it faded as her throat pained her and quickly the expression changed to a worried look.

"More than a thief, I've heard. Your former mentor disliked it very much," The queen said with a sigh, "It seems that you are not well, though. And might I ask your reason of being here?" The boy that had led Erin here looked up at her. Apparently he'd caught up on the conversation, but she couldn't blame him. What else was there to do. Ignoring the boy, Erin replied, "Garrett once told me you were someone who could help me if I needed it. I'd think it's obvious that I came because I'm sick, or something along that."

"Garrett, yes, Garrett," the elderly woman spoke, it sounded as if she was wondering off into some dream world. It was making her awkward to think about that though.

"I suppose we should help you. It would be horrible if I never got to see the boy again."

Erin gave a surprised look as she called him a boy, the thief was obvious older than a child.

"Well then," Turning her attention to the boy, the woman kept speaking, "Samuel, might you show our guest a place to stay? And keep it near me if you might."

The boy hopped up from his sitting spot, "Follow me, please!"

"Hmph," Erin made the noise with amusement, folding her arms in front of her chest as she followed.


	4. Chapter 4

**I had to change the rating to T, so if you are under the age limit, or just don't like cussing and some violence, I would recommend leaving. Yeah, and I forgot about this for quite a while as you can see, about a month and a half I think. It's back though! So, yeah!**

"Right here, ma'm!" The boy smiled and pointed to a dark corner speckled with tiny bits of light from the sun just rising over the buildings, a blanket already sat there with a burned out candle.

"You're a boy with some manners, I'll bet your mother's proud," Erin chuckled, but it ended up a cough at which she had to clutch her side.

Although worried for the woman's health, the boy still stayed cheerful when speaking, "Oh, my mother certainly is proud! I hope you feel better, ma'm." With that, he left Erin alone with a hop in his step. He was certainly an odd one, no doubt about that.

With a heavy sigh, a yawn, and of course, another cough, Erin leaned against the cool walls of the broken down chapel ready to fall asleep at any second. Yet as she slid down the wall something red smeared, and there was a sudden sharp pain in her side. Distracted by her surprise and pain, Erin never felt something slide out of her side.

"Fuck," she muttered, at last hitting the blanket on the floor. Of all the times, it had to be while she was trying to recover, right? Although about at any time she was bound to think of something like that. Enough chit-chat with herself though, the wound was fresh and still bleeding against the wall. Taking off her belt, she wrapped it around the wound and pulled it tight hoping to stop the bleeding for a little, she wasn't strong enough to tear the blanket or her clothes, and using a knife would take to long. The only problem now was that the pants would probably fall off. Well, good thing she wasn't a guy, all she had to do pull the pants up to the belt and they fit perfectly for a woman.  
No longer trusting that wall, Erin leaned against the other one and felt all along to make sure there weren't any cracks or sharp edges. Satisfied that there were was nothing that could harm her, she rested her back against the more secure wall, now holding her side out of the pain from the wound and coughs.

"Couldn't this day get any better?" She spat out sarcastically, "I swear whoever you are I'm gon-" Once again, Erin was interrupted by her cough, "I'm gonna find you, and it isn't gonna be pretty." She also forgot that there were one or two other people around, but they didn't do anything, thinking that Erin was hallucinating and sick. They weren't wrong though, already she was starting to hallucinate, and the small amount of sun wasn't helping. Still squirming in pain, she grabbed the thin blanket folding it in half and tied it around her stomach to stop the wound from bleeding more. Although she needed to still the bleeding, Erin felt stupid for wearing the blanket, even if it was a dark color.

 _A doctor right now would probably be nice._ With a grunt, Erin lifted herself off the ground, still hallucinating from the wound, she nearly hit the wall several times when trying to find the Queen of Beggars. It took her a few minutes of nearly blind walking around the broken chapel to find who she was looking for. Erin, still hallucinating, looked at the Queen's shadow, rather than the actual one and spoke, "A uh... doctor might be really useful right now." Hearing the suggestion through clenched teeth, the Queen of Beggars looked up to find the obviously injured woman in front of her, "Perhaps you're right, I'll have someone fetch him."  
One of the few beggars heard the Queen and headed off, picking his way through the rubble.  
For Erin, all she saw was a figure split into two and walk off in a line doing the same movements, why was she hallucinating? Blood spilled down her side and she was getting dizzy, but the wound also could've been affected by all the dirt and grime everywhere. Well, whichever it was nothing good was coming from it and she became light headed, the floor began to become light with the sun rising, and her eyes hurt horribly. Why wasn't the Queen helping? Erin looked up and found no one in the chair in front of her.  
 _Where the devil did she go?_ Erin turned in a full circle, incredibly confused, there was nothing, except for the men and women sitting around-and they were all staring at her. With about everyone staring at her, she was scaring herself, she was a new person here and she was bleeding, and coughing. It felt like she was sitting in a tiny spot of sunlight while an entire city stared at her as if she were being hanged but couldn't choke and die with walls tight and surrounding her, clogging her throat with smoke. What felt like hours she stood there and watched them watch her, but eventually her head grew too light, it was like choking when a cough came out, and no longer could she stand there. Erin walked as fast as she could, trying to reach her corner again, that corner that she might die in. What a horrible way to die, bleeding to death while coughs choked you and nobody who even knew you, not as a criminal, not as a friend.  
With those final thoughts, she fell to her knees and hands, then finally, curled up on the ground. Blood slowly pooled around her, and beggars started to crowd around, not sure if she was dead yet.


	5. Chapter 5

**DON'T WORRY! I'm adding Garrett in the next "chapter" for all you people who really want him back.**

* * *

 _"...And ya sure she's still alive?"_

 _"Oh yes, she's many more years to go through."_

 _"Right, then. It seems I'll just 'ave to check once in a while an' find a medication o' some sort."_

Erin no longer felt the cold stone floor she had collapsed on, but rather what seemed to be more of a rug, it was too hard to be a bed. Voices conversed above her, and about her. She lay there for a few seconds, listened to them talk, eyelids occasionally fluttering open then close. But of course, the wound wouldn't allow her to rest. Once her brain could register her surroundings, the pain once again flooded over her and she screamed. Or at least, she tried.

Erin's throat and lungs were weak from coughing so often, and all that came out was a pathetic squeak of pain. Her face showed the real amount of pain, though. Wide eyes and jaw hanging with pain all too clearly written out in her face. Then she started to cry, this pain was unbearable, the Primal wasn't as painful as this, mentally or physically. Between a few sobs, she muttered a silent, "Why?"

The doctor and Queen watched her in surprise, or at least the doctor did, as Erin seemed to wake up without any warning. The doctor immediately rushed to her side to try to avoid her from experiencing any more pain.

"Please listen, I need ya to stop squirming, the wound's just gonna get worse. It'll only heal if ya rest and be calm," With the best reassuring voice he could muster, the doctor rested a warm hand on Erin's shoulder. Deciding to obey for once, Erin's face became calm and she stopped squirming and flopped herself into a more comfortable position while stretching her still bleeding wound painfully in the process. With a wheezy voice, she asked, "What happened?" Looking at the doctor then to the Queen and back again.

"Allow him to tell you," The Queen answered gesturing for a ragged man to step out of a corner and speak to Erin. She raised an eyebrow as he appeared, she hadn't noticed him before, but then again she never really got to take in her surroundings.

Then the man began to speak some what uncomfortably, "Well, 'e all saw your bleedin' side an' 'e were all confused. Blood came a spillin' out an' none o' us knew why. Then you turned an' 'ooked at us all in such a weird way," The man looked at his feet as if she scared the devil out of him, "It was like t-the devil possessed you. 'E were terrified. Then you left a-an' tha' look was gone, then you was on your knees coughin' crazy like. Then you dropped. 'E didn't know if ye were dead or what. Blood pooled around ya and then he came," The beggar pointed at the doctor and quickly walked away. Erin sat there still as a dead tree, unsure what to think about the man's story. Then a wave of coughs came, her chest pounding with pressure, and her head threatening to make her fall unconscious once more.

"Oh my! Ya nevar told me of this," the doctor said, starting to get her to sit up. Erin weakly swatted the doctor's hands away with an angry grunt and supported herself on to the bed next to her and leaned against the wood wall. A sigh escaped her, as well as more coughs. The doctor rummaged through some drawers and papers looking for a remedy, that was Erin's guess at least. The Queen finally spoke again, but this time she was leaving through the door, "Please introduce yourself, doctor." The man immediately stood up in surprise, how rude it was not to introduce yourself. Driving a hand through rough brown hair, the young man turned to look at Erin, "Er, sorry I never introduced myself. The name's Jacob, Jacob Iroestan." He held out a hand for a handshake with an awkward smile. It wouldn't hurt to share her name, after all, rarely anyone knew it.

"Erin," she replied, weakly taking his hand and giving the firmest shake she could with her limited strength. Jacob noticed that she hadn't given a surname, but shook it off thinking that she wasn't exactly thinking properly.

"So, uh… Have you gotten in a fight recently?" Jacob asked, gesturing to the wound. Erin shrugged, "Depends on what you call a fight, but a stabby one? No."

"Then how'd ya manage to get that? Doesn't usually happen that some'un stabs themself with a rock, or somethin'," As Erin's head started to clear up, she noticed the man had an accent that wasn't usually found in the City.

"Er… You've caught me there," Erin sighed, "Story was I'm leaning against a wall, then next thing you know, I'm bleeding."

"Oh… Uh, okay. Anybody 'o doesn't like you?"

The questions were getting a little personal, but, Erin was basically a new person in the City again. There probably wasn't hurt in telling him a couple things. She didn't even have to think to get an answer anyway.

"Nope."

"That's a bit over-doing it, don't ya think?"

"I'm pretty much new to the City."

"I suppose 'at makes sense," he said while fingering his chin, "Did ya notice that ya were stabbed by some'un, not something?"

"Uh, no?"

"Well, congratulations!" Jacob said a little too cheerfully, then his voice immediately darkened, "You got stabbed, an' yar poisoned."

Erin's head immediately popped up from looking at her fingers which also brought a headache that she had to clench her teeth just to still the pain. After her head had settled she stared at him with horror, at which he sighed and shuffled through some more stuff.

"There is a cure, right? And how long am I going to have to stay here?" Kicking off her boots, Erin lay flat on the bed, frustrated that she wouldn't be able to go back to thieving for a while. She listened to the doctor talk to himself about some weird medical stuff, waiting for an answer as she was growing impatient.

"At the least, ya'll probably have ta wait two weeks, teh poison may add a couple more days. Make ya self comfortable, life may be hard for a while," Jacob gave an apologetic smile, and Erin made some weird frustrated noise with her throat. Now that she was stuck here for a couple weeks, might as well take in the surroundings.

The walls were a nice dark wood that seemed to have been cleaned very well, except for that one ant crawling around, the ground was mostly just flat stones and a few pieces of wood shoved into the ground with a large, but thin, carpet laying on the ground. It had a nice design too, gold lined the edges while the inside was red covered with weird patterns and pictures, and something that looked like another language of some sort. The roof was wood, covered in a couple spider webs too high to reach, where did this guy live? Most buildings were made of cold stone and bricks on the roofs. She mumbled, "You're an odd man, alright," but too lightly for him to hear. There were two doors, she guessed one might lead outside and the other to Jacob's bedroom. Judging by the quality of this place, it was most likely really small. In the corner between the doors, there were several pots, some handing on the walls. Each one had a different green plant, all of them lying low. Then she noticed the warm sun on her face, a small window sat to her left showing the sun going down in a deep blue and purple sky.

Was I really out for so long? Erin watched the little fuzzies in the air float around in the sunlight, finally lighting the room that was dim before by a couple of candles. One of the candle sat next to her on a nightstand, along with some odd elixirs. Just for the fun of it she snuffed it out and stared at the ceiling once again. That man can go rummaging through all the drawers he wants, but he seemed pretty useless doing nothing but telling her she was poisoned and dressing the wound. Speaking of wounds, Erin smiled as she barely felt the pain anymore, but seeing as she was no longer distracted from it, it all came rushing back. The headache, the coughs, the pain, and of course that stupid poison had the effect of making her hallucinate. Tired, she put her cold hands on her face and looked up to meet the worst hallucination ever seen, dead Orion still looking like a terrible monster and leaping at her. Afraid that it was actually real, Erin had covered her face and turned to her injured side.

"Shit!" she muttered and turned back to where she was laying on her back. Jacob was so deep in searching for stuff he forgot about his patient still laying there.

"'Ey, uh, Erin was it? Please jus' rest, best cure is sleep, it'll help yo-" He was cut off by Erin's glare of annoyance, "Don't bother me with your weird doctor stuff, I never wanted to be one." With those words she took the doctor's advice and closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep, not even bothering to go under the blanket.

Sleep came, and so did the oddest dreams.

* * *

 _Falling through the dark, it was an endless hole. Or maybe, it wasn't. Down, Erin fell, down and down through the dark, until a cold hand grabbed her. Now she was above a foaming white sea, hungering, trying to grab her with a liquid tongue. Refusing to look down, she looked up to find Garrett struggling to haul her up. Trying to reach up and grab the broken ship, she slipped and the starving sea swallowed her up and all was silent. No longer could she hear the pounding of waves or her breath causing bubbles to stream upward. Everything was just a deep, calming blue, but her eyes were wide and everything paralyzed. She sank, forever. It started to feel calming now, and her eyes began to close, embracing the darkness._

 _Then someone started dragging her out and soon her head was above the water. With eyes blurry from water she stared at a masked man raising a dagger. Erin lay there, calm as the snow falling in the winter as the masked man stabbed her in the side and left her to die. Ashes began to fall from the sky, and everything was black._

* * *

Erin woke up with a start, causing the biggest of headaches yet. Groaning, she waited until her head cleared to look around. What the hell was wrong with that dream, anyway? Jacob had told her she'd been stabbed by someone, was that man in her dream the same one? She lifted herself to look out the window, the soft pounding of rain tapped against the window.

Where the hell was she? An unfamiliar wall stood to her right, and the rest of the area was wooded with out an end in sight. She remembered Garrett telling her stories about the Pagans and their Trickster, and this forest was almost exactly how she had imagined their home. It disturbed her further, building onto the discomfort made by the dream.

Wishing to forget about all of that, she stared at the nightstand, it was completely dark, but after years living in the dark, Erin could see almost clearly. A couple more bottles had appeared there, along with a spoon and an odd, clear jelly substance still clinging to the wood. Then she checked the wound, it had been redressed and was still some-what clean, and tight. Although as she checked it out, a sudden drowsiness came over her, the poison was going to work, and quicker than before.

Again, she fell into a deep sleep, with nothing to wake her up.

* * *

 _Erin walked through the City as a light rain fell around making a rhythm with it's little_ splish _noises. The streets were completely empty and lined with an occasional fire and torch. As she walked through an unfamiliar part of the City, two children could be heard singing together in another language with voices so amazing she could hardly believe that there were real people singing.  
_ _Driven by the perfect voices, Erin walked through the maze of buildings, only to be stopped by a scream from the girl. Everything was silent. The rain made no noise and neither did the fires. She continued to walk through, more carefully this time, and found the fountain that the two children were happily singing together. None of it looked familiar, the fountain was the most beautiful thing she'd ever experienced, and all around were stone roads with patches of grass and flowers and a heavy fog covering everything else around it. Then she looked down at the fountain again to find the girl dead with her throat slit. Looking around, Erin spotted the boy with a bloody knife in hand, his face matted in wet, black hair. He stared at her and mouthed the word, "Unforgiven"._ _The fog then swallowed the boy, and Erin was left with the dead girl. All she could do was stare at the child. Both eyes were a beautiful brown, but the left one was fading into a gray color, her hair was a dark and faded brown that reached a couple inches lower than her shoulders. She had light skin that was barely tanned and it appeared that she was wearing the clothes of a boy, trousers and a simple shirt with a simple black vest on top. There was also a necklace with some sort of rune carved on a small bone with several feathers along the rest on the string. Intrigued, Erin reached out to grab and examine the necklace further, but the dead girl's hand trapped her wrist in a strong grip, then she was dragged under the earth by who knows what, and the scene faded to another._

* * *

Similar dreams followed, one after the other, until she finally awoke.  
Jacob sat next to her bare stomach, examining the wound as Erin stirred from the world of very odd dreams. She groaned, attempting to sit herself up while weakened by poison and the fact that she hadn't moved in a while. The doctor immediately stood up with hope that Erin had finally awakened.

"Please say somethin' normal," he prayed, and the prayer was answered.

"Something normal," she replied, still drowsy and rubbing her eyes.  
"Oh, thank teh heavens yar alright!" Jacob cheered, "Ya woke up sometimes, but ya never did at teh same time! Ya were just mutterin' stuff about some places in the City, like the Burrick and teh Baron's manor place or whateva it's called, and teese two guys named Garrett and Basso, I tink."

Erin watched him slightly confused as her mind slurred his words making his voice harder to understand than with just the accent while he babbled on. Then she realized that her stomach was exposed, it looked quite pathetic if she was honest to herself, but it was really awkward being with a man she didn't even know much about.

"...Oh yeh! I fergot te say that I found a cure to t'at poison," he said proudly wearing a smile while showing her a little sack filled with leaves. Erin's mood lightened a bit, that meant no more crazy dreams and hallucinations and falling unconscious every two minutes, but a question still remained unanswered.

"Did you ever mention how long I was out?" She asked, shifting to finally sit straight up and stretch what she could without testing the wound. The doctor looked at her, the proud smile he wore was wiped right off his face.

"Abou' four days I tink," he said apologetically shrugging his shoulders. Erin shifted uncomfortably, slowly sliding out of the bed.

"I'm going for fresh air," she stated with no question and already standing, but having to use the nightstand to support herself.

"Tha' would be fine, along wit' some stretches, but take t'is little pocket, it's teh cure to the poison. I'd like ya to keep it, just in case," Jacob grabbed her hand and firmly placed the pouch in the palm of her hand, wrapping a string around her thumb. He then patted her onward as if saying, 'Go along now, your time here is finished.'  
Erin mumbled a thanks and slipped on her over-sized boots and reached for the door. When she opened the door a gust of cold wind hit her in the face.  
 _Gosh it's cold._ Was it winter already? Tightening her hold on the pouch, she stepped outside, the City never was this cold, but she wasn't in the City anymore, most likely in a different city. Well, she had to have gotten here some how, and she planned on leaving the same way, injured or not. First she checked along the wall for a plain door, it would've been the easiest thing to carry her through. Unfortunately, there was no door. Instead, Erin felt along the wall for a button of some sort, and there was none.  
With a heavy sigh that made a cloud in the air, she traveled across the frosty ground to find a way through the wall.  
Erin was just about to give up and forget about making her way back in until she saw a partially destroyed area. "Finally," she whispered, rolling her eyes. An entrance was an entrance whether you climbed or walked. Pulling up the sleeves on her stolen attire to make sure the sharp edges didn't cut her hands, Erin made a jump for a crack and climbed up the dark, crumbled wall.

 _Finally..._

Jumping down from the wall, Erin found herself in Audale which was in a bad condition, most of it in the back was intact, but the rest was nearly burned to the ground. Around the area she saw people building the buildings and getting rid of the rubble. How had the fire even started? Sure there were lots of fire pits and torches around, but most buildings were made completely out of stone.  
Keeping to the shadows as not to look suspicious with a bloodied shirt, Erin sifted in an out of buildings. For now a place to take refuge would be nice, but no more sleep. Four days was enough for a while.  
With impatience, Erin unconsciously tossed the little pouch of herbs in her hand waiting for an idea to sprout. Maybe she should go to the Crippled Burrick, Basso might be even the slightest bit happy to see her, and the place might be able to offer some place to rest and settle down for a bit.

* * *

Mmm... The beginning may be a little rusty 'cause I never checked it. Sorry, I felt like I read it too many times but never corrected it... So I didn't want to read it again. lol  
Oh gosh, I'm lazy. No wonder my writing isn't as good as my imagination.


	6. Chapter 6

**And here we go...**

As Erin began to walk through Auldale she was immediately awed by the change. The fire seemed to have hit every house, each one bore its own scar whether it was a scorch mark or a broken down roof. The clouds above seemed heavier than normal, and why? It had just rained, at least before she slept, right? She lightly talked to herself about the oddities of the burnt but familiar city as she walked. Echoes bounced off the closed walls of the city, but Erin didn't listen. They became louder, footsteps with the laughter and nervous talk of people. Just as Erin stepped into a cross section, a group of five children ran across, two boys and three girls.

"Watch it ma'm, shame if you were to fall!" A girl wearing ragged clothes said then laughed. As Erin peered past the corner in surprise she watched as the group slowed down and talked amongst themselves.

"D-did you really just say that?" A girl in a long, lavender dress said with surprise evident in her voice. The other girl in a similar dress of blue muttered an agreement.

"Why not," The ragged girl asked a smirk plain on her face.

"That's my sister!" The boy with shoulder-length hair praised. Long-hair wrapped an arm around Rag's shoulders, both had similar raspy voices while the others had sweeter, toned voices.

"And what about your other sisters?" Blue-dress challenged. The other boy who had remained silent looked alarmed and seemed to be walking around with small nervous steps. Long-hair shrugged, and both girls turned and shunned him and stormed forward.

"That's how they pay us for getting them out of that cursed household? I'd have preferred another coin or two," Rags said with a huff. "C'mon Jerry, you don't gotta be nervous, nobody's getting in fights today." The nervous looking boy nodded and continued on with his presumed family.

Erin stood there in a simple shock. There was something odd about the group, she remembered them from somewhere, or maybe it was something, but the sudden pain from her wound brought her back to reality again. The childrens' faint echoes diminished and she was alone again. Slowly she trudged on. Never really thinking about anything, not even what she was going to say to Basso once she got to the Crippled Burrick.

It was strangely quiet. No patrolling watch or roaming citizens, just a few over-time workers. There had only been that one group of children. Why children? Why did she have to meet up with children? They were so rare now, and it was also rare that there was simply no one. Normally silence was welcomed, but this one was unnerving. Each step Erin took felt like one step closer to meeting an ambush of some sort.

Finally she had reached the bridge, except, she didn't. To her left where the bridge was supposed to be should be was a tall island of stone. The remains.

"Shit."

Now how was she to get across? Two options. One, swim, two was find a boat. Number one seemed unbearable, especially since Erin didn't even know how to swim. Number two? Pretty hard, after all there was no boat. No driftwood either.

Erin released a heavy sigh and raised her arms up in a helpless gesture. This was just terribly weird. Who had started a fire in the middle of Auldale and manage to also burn down the huge bridge. By the Trickster, she swore that she'd kill whoever was causing her all this trouble.  
For now, however, time shouldn't be wasted.  
Erin took nearly two hours to locate a boat, and by that time it was noon. The sun shone through dense clouds, making it not too bright, but enough to know the time of day. Unfastening the ropes, Erin grabbed a pair of oars and made her way through the debris to the other side of the Auldale bridge.

After a long time of rowing and skulking around the city, Erin eventually found herself at the Crippling Burrick, it was small and filled with new arrivals looking for a drink to wash everything away. This was where Basso should be at. She'd talk to him, and there was nothing after that. Simple plans where usually the best, but unknown futures were kind of annoying. Taking her time, the former rogue made her way to Basso, sopping wet. Reaching the entrance, Erin poked her head around the corner, searching for Basso.

"Sorting papers? Don't you get bored of that?" Erin smirked, and nearly laughed at Basso's expression.

"What the fuck?" Basso exclaimed whipping around and nearly throwing his pen at her.

Basso stared at Erin as if he'd seen a ghost, but the man had been in the situation before.

"What the hell is with you people?" He slapped the papers on his desk and leaned over it.

"Well, I just thought it'd be nice to talk to someone after my traumatic experience," Erin said dramatically while inspecting his shelf for the weekly paper.

"'Ey! Don't go messing around with my stuff," Basso fussed over snatching a sheet of paper from Erin's hands, "Gotta keep my stuff organized, y'know."

"Yeah. _Organized._ "

"Well, tell me what ya want, woman."

"I just need some help getting situated in the City again, that's all. So, maybe we should start over," Erin gave a slight smirk and did a mocking curtsy, "Hello, Basso. Long time no see, ey?"

Basso stood there for a moment looking at something over Erin's head, he gave a slight nod and looked back at Erin. "Er, what were we doing? Oh yeah! Nice to, uh, meet you Erin. Although, really woman, you look you're still supposed to be in the asy-," Basso broke off at a quick glance above Erin again, "Er, Ascending Age. That's right. Back then was when the City was being rebuilt for the uh, well, the last rebuilding. People were looking pretty bad and shaggy y'know, kinda like the beggars during the Gloom's reign. Ye get what I'm going at?"  
Erin stole a quick glance behind her, but saw nothing except the stone wall. She stared at him suspiciously, but softened her gaze after a bit. "Sure, whatever you say. I just need some stuff on what's going on in the City and we'll be clear for a while. I hope you're still a fence, however."

Basso nearly sighed in relief but caught himself in time. He gave a tight smile, "Yeah, alright. Go to the bar and grab yourself a drink or two," Basso picked a few coins out of his pocket and tossed them to Erin, "Give me a couple hours or so and I'll get you some good info. Maybe you can catch a few things in there yourself."

Erin stuffed the coins into a huge pocket and walked out, "Sure, but three hours and I'm coming back whether you like it or not." She exited the fence's "hidey hole" and made her way to the actual Crippling Burrick. Yet before she entered, Erin heard a soft brushing noise against the stone ground. Turning around at the odd noise, she saw nothing but the blank stone path next to Basso's place. When she entered the tavern she was met by a few curious glances, but otherwise ignored. A barmaid came by to ask her if she would like anything the second Erin sat in a chair. She asked for whatever they had an excess of and sat down to listen to the on going conversation.


	7. Chapter 7

The tavern was boring enough. People usually didn't start coming 'til after noon, if Erin was remembering correctly. The early risers weren't talking about much.

"The Gloom seems to be leaving us now, what's that going to do to us? Going back to maybe a more cheerful mode in the City?" Says one man.

"Eh, I hope so. I used to see a pretty lady at the Summer Festival every year. Hope she's not with the dead, we were hoping to get together last fest. Whenever that was," Says the other.

Common talk among the people, perhaps things might get back to normal faster than expected. Or maybe not. The City was always filled with surprises.

The barmaid came back quickly with a tankard with ale. Erin grunted her thanks and slid one of the coins out of her pocket. After the woman left, Erin looked at the tankard in disgust.

 _This place was never the best to go to, ale still probably tastes like shit. Something to pass the time, though._ Taking a swig, Erin licked her lips getting a taste for the ale. "Still tastes like good ol' shit," she muttered.

After a good half hour or so of a bored rogue sitting with her ale, Erin noticed something stuck under her table. Peering underneath in the filtered sunlight, she tried to get a better look. Papers, a few written papers, and it didn't look much like any newspaper. Taking a casual glance around, Erin checked for anyone who might be watching, it had become second nature after so much practice. Satisfied with everyone distracted in the seemingly light tavern, Erin slid out of her chair to slip the papers from under the table. It took no more than 5 seconds to grab the papers and sit back in her chair.

Then perhaps it was a bad idea, but Erin spread out the pages on the table and leaned over them, pushing her tankard to the side of the table.

 _The Baron's Secret_ , One was titled, and another, _A Thief's Connections_. Then _A Beggar's True Inheritance, A Farther Connection_. She must have spent the other an hour boggling over the papers, and staring in utter surprise. It was quite a good thing Garrett taught her how to read, yet the papers were a bit frightening.

"What have ya got there?" Basso smiled, watching Erin's surprise and haste to put the papers away.

"Not often that you get startled is it?" He asked, his grin widening.

"Why so happy Basso, met the love of your life?" She retorted in arrogance, "Just got infested in something, nothing you need to know about."

Basso rolled his eyes, but the smile stayed on his face, it started to seem a bit fake now. "Anyway, got you some information quicker than expected. All of it on these, uh, things. I mean, papers. Sorry, forgetting my stuff."

Basso slid across a few newspapers and other written papers. The hand writing was certainly neater than Basso's, but Erin couldn't put a name on it. Looking down and back up at Basso, Erin asked, "Well, Basso, something's certainly changed in your hand writing, looks neater than before."

Basso hesitated for a second, his face faltering the slightest bit, "Well, uhm. Well, while you've been gone I've definitely improved my writing, do you like it?"  
Erin frowned and stared at Basso. "We both know you're bad at lying, don't even try."

"Well, I did kind of have some help. Why do ya gotta be like this, woman?" Basso sighed. Then he turned on his heel and hobbled out in that weird walk. Erin put Basso's and the mysterious papers together and looked around with a sigh. _Where the hell am I going to put all this stuff?_

With a bit of effort, she stuffed the smallest pages into her pockets, and held the newspapers under her arm. Still in pain from the wound, Erin carefully walked out of the tavern without a place to go to.

The Queen's place again, maybe. That ended badly, however. Her hideout would certainly be found by Garrett, and she still needed time. Surely there were empty houses, there had to be. But they might be so far away.

Eventually she decided to go back to the Queen of Beggars and find a place a bit away from the old cathedral. Off went the slow, limping Erin, navigating from the remnants of her memory through gloomy passageways and twisting turns with narrow alleys.


End file.
